Mohammad's Germany visit will boost ties

To emphasise the good relations that exist between the United Arab Emirates and Germany, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is presently visiting the European country with a top-level delegation.

The link between the two nations is as old as the UAE is young, but nonetheless has proved more than profitable for Germany, whose exports to the UAE far exceed those to other Arab Gulf states.

The imbalance between imports and exports to Germany is heavily weighted in Germany's favour, which is an issue likely to be discussed by Shaikh Mohammad on his visit, with a view to creating greater parity.

The high standards of German products are renowned not only in the Arab Gulf, but around the world. It is often the benchmark under which certain products are engineered.

The UAE, along with its Arab neighbours, has long been an avid buyer of German vehicles, being some of the first in the region. But its reputation for heavy industry, medicines and equipment is gaining ground as the manufacturers' names become more familiar to the buying public.

Many German businesses are making inroads into a number of service industries in the UAE, and receiving acclaim, not least the large property companies who are making their presence felt in the vast developments that are being undertaken in the country.

The warmth between the UAE and Germany is likely to remain as it is based upon the honesty, integrity and respect each nation has for the other, unhindered by any historical complications that may have accrued had Germany been a former colonial power in the area.

With the envisaged signing of a new trade agreement between the two nations, it augurs well for both.